Goals & Priorities for 2018

Mission: To promote and defend the rights of individuals with disabilities.

Vision: Disability Rights Oregon has a vision of a society in which persons with disabilities have equality of opportunity, full participation and the ability to exercise meaningful choice.

DRO’s Work: Disability Rights Oregon (DRO) is a non-profit law office that provides advocacy and legal services to people with disabilities who have an issue related to their disability and that falls within our goals and priorities. Each year DRO sets its goals and priorities, with help from the disability community, to guide the work we do and to further our mission and vision.

Case Acceptance Guidelines:

To enforce or change the law to further our mission, DRO selects cases and issues that will help improve access and services for the disability communities we serve and that will help the most people

DRO’s focus for individual advocacy will be on providing callers with information and materials about their rights to help them advocate for themselves

Representation on Individual cases will be limited to available resources

Emphasis is placed on:

Legal issues that fall within the issue areas and priorities set out below

Cases that will make positive changes for the community

Cases where a person is at risk of long-term harm

Services to minority, rural, and other underserved communities

Information and materials for self-advocacy

Limitations:

Cases that do not have a reasonable likelihood of success based on the facts and the law

Cases where DRO staff members do not have the expertise and staff to provide representation

DRO does not provide representation in criminal cases

DRO does not provide help with family law matters

NOTE: The order of DRO’s Issue Areas and Priorities listed below does not indicate their importance – we consider them to have equal importance.

Beneficiaries of Social Security

Advice and representation in Social Security Overpayment Cases where overpayment is due to earned income and presents a barrier to further employment or self-employment

Advance employment, financial stability, and independence by offering work incentives planning and assistance (WIPA) to SSI and/or SSDI beneficiaries residing in Oregon and Southern Washington State who are employed or seriously considering work

Client Assistance Program (CAP) for Vocational Rehabilitation Recipients or Applicants

Advise and inform clients, client applicants, and other individuals with disabilities of all the available services and benefits under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and of the services and benefits available to them under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Protect Core Civil Rights in Institutions

End isolation of people with serious mental illness in institutional settings

Prevent discrimination in institutions, focusing on intersectionality for individuals experiencing disability and other marginalized identities

Prevent abuse and neglect, seclusion and restraint, and inappropriate use of forced medications

Enforce ADA compliance within institutions

Promote trauma-informed healthcare within institutions

Education

Prevent the use of shortened school day and inadequate behavior supports

Prevent seclusion and restraint in K-12 education settings

Enforce Oregon Department of Education’s (ODE) obligation to properly operate a comprehensive system that makes appropriate education available to all children

Support parents in accessing IEP documents in their native language

Freedom from Abuse & Neglect

Investigate allegations of abuse and neglect with probable cause when not adequately addressed by state and local authorities